SGMA Archives - Page 6 of 8

For some Kern County farmers, overpumping groundwater could get pricey

February 15, 2022

• by Lois Henry

Farmers in the sprawling Semitropic Water Storage District in the northwest corner of Kern County got a look recently at possible water charges for going over their allotted water budgets and the top amounts were eye popping. The details are still being worked out and won’t be put in place for a while, said Semitropic…

Groundwater • SGMA

Gov.’s proposed $40 million for farmland retirement is welcome but more needed

February 3, 2022

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water

More money could be coming to California’s new farmland repurposing program. But it’s still just a drop in the bucket, according experts. In his budget summary for 2022-2023, Governor Newsom proposed an additional $40 million for the Multibenefit Land Repurposing Program, a program approved last year to pay farmers incentives for taking irrigated land out…

Rivers • SGMA

River rights battles in the San Joaquin Valley stuck in eddy

February 1, 2022

• by Lois Henry

If you’re living in excited anticipation of the next batch of legal action on several San Joaquin Valley rivers now under scrutiny by the rights division of the State Water Resources Control Board, you may want to cool your jets. That doesn’t mean absolutely nothing has been happening on the Fresno, Kings and Kern rivers….

Groundwater • SGMA

State gives thumbs down to most San Joaquin Valley groundwater plans

January 28, 2022

• by Jesse Vad and Lois Henry, SJV Water

Groundwater plans for eight “critically overdrafted” subbasins in the San Joaquin Valley were deemed incomplete by the state Department of Water Resources (DWR) on Friday. Plans covering the Kern, Eastern San Joaquin, Merced, Chowchilla, Kings, Kaweah, Tulare Lake and Tule subbasins were all officially labeled as “incomplete” by DWR. On January 21, DWR also deemed…

Groundwater • SGMA

Desert groundwater plan OK’d by state

January 13, 2022

• by Lois Henry

The Indian Wells Valley groundwater plan got a thumbs up from the state on Thursday but with a swarm of lawsuits surrounding the plan, it’s unclear what that approval will mean going forward. One of those lawsuits seeks a “comprehensive adjudication” of water rights of the Indian Wells Valley basin, which could reconfigure who has…

Groundwater • SGMA

Groundwater use capped for some Tulare County farmers

January 11, 2022

• by Lois Henry

Tulare County farmers used to pumping groundwater at will are coming to the harsh reality that those days are numbered. For some, they’re already over. Pumping caps have been, or soon will be, implemented in all three groundwater sustainability agencies in the Kaweah subbasin,. “I’d say the reaction has been positive. Positively terrible,” said Mike…

Groundwater • SGMA

Critics say valley groundwater managers put too much emphasis on recharge, not enough on pumping cuts

December 27, 2021

• by Jesse Vad, SJV Water reporting intern

Groundwater recharge seems to be priority No. 1 in the San Joaquin Valley’s scramble toward sustainability. With water restrictions on the horizon, groundwater managers can’t build recharge sites fast enough. But will it be enough? “That’s something that’s always on the forefront of my mind, is this going to be enough?” said Kassy Chaughan, executive…

SGMA

State warns more valley groundwater agencies their plans aren’t up to snuff

December 9, 2021

• by Jesse Vad and Lois Henry

Six subbasins covering nearly all of the central and southern San Joaquin Valley do not have adequate plans to address falling groundwater levels, according to letters sent Thursday by the Department of Water Resources to groundwater agencies within those subbasins. Subbasins with plans not likely to pass muster include the Delta-Mendota, Kaweah, Kern County, Kings,…

SGMA

State’s groundwater “cop” hands out more criticism of valley plans

November 19, 2021

• by Lois Henry

Another set of comments critical of how San Joaquin Valley groundwater plans will impact drinking water wells dropped on Friday from the powerful State Water Resources Control Board. The comments focused on plans that cover the City of Fresno and many surrounding towns as well as Visalia and a number of smaller towns in Tulare…

SGMA

Four valley groundwater plans fail to meet state standards – for now

November 18, 2021

• by Danielle Bergstrom, Fresnoland, Lois Henry and Jesse Vad, SJV Water

Four groundwater plans in the Central Valley — including those for Westlands Water District, Chowchilla Water District and the Merced and Eastern San Joaquin subbasins — don’t show how they will protect water quality, keep drinking water wells from going dry or stop already sinking land from sinking further, according to the Department of Water…

NEWS

For some Kern County farmers, overpumping groundwater could get pricey

Gov.’s proposed $40 million for farmland retirement is welcome but more needed

River rights battles in the San Joaquin Valley stuck in eddy

State gives thumbs down to most San Joaquin Valley groundwater plans

Desert groundwater plan OK’d by state

Groundwater use capped for some Tulare County farmers

Critics say valley groundwater managers put too much emphasis on recharge, not enough on pumping cuts

State warns more valley groundwater agencies their plans aren’t up to snuff

State’s groundwater “cop” hands out more criticism of valley plans

Four valley groundwater plans fail to meet state standards – for now

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